Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

PRODUCT MIX

In 1948, McDonald's started with just simple product items of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, shakes, soft drinks, and apple pie. While, they didn't only focus  on those limited items, McDonald's expanded their product mix width dynamically. They have introduced a lot of the new product lines, such as burger&sandwich line, McCafe line, chicken&fish line, salad line, breakfast line, snack and beverages and so on.

Recently, McDonald's made another product line extension. The company is launching a huge advertising campaign to promote the new product line called McWrap. McWrap is a "healthy" sandwich with low calories. One of the items in this product line is called The Sweet Chili Grilled Chicken McWrap which only contains 360 calories, 65% of Big Mac and 45% of Double Quarter Pounder. I think McWrap can be a healthier choice for many usual fast-food eaters as well as some who might not typically go that route. As a global brand, McDonald's also realizes the significance of the health problem, and they try to satisfy the individual's personal wants and needs.

The most profitable and popular product that McDonald's introduced is definitely McCafe. According to the reports, McDonald’s locations offering McCafe drink choices made 15% more profit than locations that did not. By starting McCafe, McDonald's is offering new products that were not available in traditional McDonald's stores. McCafe specializes in serving coffee beverages, which attracts customers that usually don't come to McDonald's to eat fast-food. Mc Cafe is also not only a product development. McCafe has its own section of the store and clearly distinguishes itself from the traditional McDonald store. The store has a modern, yet relaxing mood. This is important to attract new market segments. Perhaps customers who go to a cafe don’t go to satisfy hunger, but possibly to take a sip of coffee and chat in a relaxing environment. Thus, McDonald's McCafe serves as an example performing diversification by developing both new products and new markets.